The Final Countdown

Since Halloween, In A Daily Celebration Of The Super Bowl's Luminaries, One-hit Wonders And Goats, We Have Asked You To Take A Number, From Warren Sapp's 99 All The Way To Jim Otto's 00. Now, The Wait For The Big Game Is Down For The Count. Are You Ready For Some Football?

February 7, 2010|By Staff Writer Steve Svekis

00

C Jim Otto (Raiders II)

His 15-year career necessitated nearly 40 surgeries, including multiple joint replacements. The only player to wear 00 (or 0) in the Super Bowl.

1

K Garo Yepremian (Dolphins VI, VII, VIII)

His famously botched "hot-potato" treatment of a blocked field-goal attempt in waning minutes of VII in 1973 allowed the Redskins to avoid the game's lone shutout.

2

P Mike Horan (Broncos XXI, XXII, XXIV; Rams XXXIV)

His 17 career punts shares SB mark. After three drubbings with Denver, Horan won an NFL title with St. Louis in the final game of his 15-year career.

3

K Mark Moseley (Redskins XVII, XVIII)

The 1982 NFL MVP was the NFL's last full-time straight-on, "toe" kicker.

4

K Adam Vinatieri (Patriots XXXI, XXXVI, XXXVIII, XXXIX; Colts XLI)

The Patriots won three Super Bowls by three points each, with Vinatieri making winning field goals in XXXVI and XXXVIII in the final seconds.

5

QB Donovan McNabb (Eagles XXXIX)

McNabb reached the NFC Championship five times in the past nine seasons, winning once. In 2005, his Eagles came up three points short against the New England Patriots.

6

K Mike Cofer (49ers XXIII, XXIV)

Twenty years ago, he became the last kicker to miss an extra-point attempt.

7

QB John Elway (Broncos XXI, XXII, XXIV, XXXII, XXXIII)

Elway's Broncos were crushed in his first three Super Bowls, but All-Pro RB Terrell Davis saved his title-game legacy, leading Denver to championships in Elway's final two years.

8

QB Steve Young (49ers XXIII, XXIV, XXIX)

Young, overshadowed by Joe Montana and his four titles in San Francisco, decimated San Diego with six TD passes before asking teammates to "take this monkey off my back!"

9

QB Steve McNair (Titans XXXIV)

The former Titans star, who was murdered in July, rallied his team from 16 points down in the final 16 minutes, only to see Kevin Dyson come up a yard short of forcing overtime.

10

WR Santonio Holmes (Steelers XLIII)

The Glades Central High graduate's catch with 35 seconds left to beat the Cardinals last year, unlike the last-minute winning grabs by John Taylor in XXIII or Plaxico Burress in XLII, was as technically difficult as it was dramatic.

11

K Scott Norwood (Bills XXV, XXVI)

There has never been a play where so much pressure was heaped on one player. At 47 yards away off the grass, and with his team losing, making it would have been a titanic achievement.

12

QB Joe Namath (Jets III)

Many who wore the number performed much better in the Super Bowl, but when one mentions "The Guarantee," the term is associated with one man. One icon. Joe Willie Namath.

13

QB Kurt Warner (Rams XXXIV, XXXVI; Cardinals XLIII)

Only Joe Namath's and Lynn Swann's Hall of Fame credentials were as augmented by the title game as Warner's, who owns the top three passing-yardage marks in a Super Bowl.

14

QB Neil O'Donnell (Steelers XXX)

Forty yards from field-goal range, down 20-17 with 4:15 left, O'Donnell's interception to Larry Brown doomed the surprisingly game Steelers.

15

QB Earl Morrall (Colts III, V; Dolphins VII)

Perhaps the most valuable backup QB ever, Morrall twice took teams to the Super Bowl by going 26-1 for injured starters. He famously lost in III, got a win in V and sat in VII.

16

QB Joe Montana (49ers XVI, XIX, XXIII, XXIV)

Zero interceptions, while passing more than 30 times per Super Bowl on average. Incredible. Add in 11 TD passes and you become the only guy to win three Super Bowl MVPs.

17

QB Doug Williams (Redskins XXII)

Williams had his 15 minutes, literally. Down 10-0 to the Broncos, Williams came back from injury and torched Denver with four second-quarter TD passes.

18

QB Peyton Manning (Colts XLI, XLIV)

Indianapolis' greatest player, Manning rallied his Colts past the Bears in XLI (2007), and a win Sunday would make the argument of the NFL's greatest QB ever even more spirited.

19

QB Johnny Unitas (Colts III, V)

The seminal Baltimore icon, an ailing Unitas relieved Earl Morrall and led the Colts on their only scoring drive against in III. In V, Unitas left early, but the Colts won.

20

RB Rocky Bleier (Steelers IX, X, XIII, XIV)

After his rookie season in 1968, Bleier was drafted into service and went to Vietnam. He returned three years later and caught a TD pass early in XIII.

21

CB Deion Sanders (49ers XXIX; Cowboys XXX)

Florida State's greatest athlete, Sanders hit .533 in the 1992 World Series and then shut down his side of the field in winning Super Bowls in 1995 and 1996.

22

RB Emmitt Smith (Cowboys XXVII, XXVIII, XXX)

The former UF star and NFL's all-time rushing-yardage leader piled up 345 total yards and five touchdowns in the Cowboys' victories in XXVII, XXVIII and XXX (1993-94, 1996).

23

KR Devin Hester (Bears XLI)

The Riviera Beach Suncoast High product and former UM star is the only player to take the Super Bowl's opening kickoff for a touchdown.

24

CB Lewis Billups (Bengals XXIII)

With the Bengals up 13-6 in the fourth quarter, Billups dropped a sure interception in the end zone. The next play, Jerry Rice scored a TD and the 49ers went on to win 20-16.